The holy ganges

I made a booboo - book review

Every parent wants the best for her child. The moment she realizes she is expecting, she buys all those books on parenting. She googles information about child raising. There are many companies which cleverly trap her to buy those books, CDs, pregnancy clothes and baby care products. Having bought all these (un)wanted items, she is ready to become a mother. The child comes into this world and turns all those theories in the books and online expert blogs upside down. All those books and CD’s lie in the garbage, for they are of no help. Now she is left alone. The result - I made a booboo by Shivangi Sharma. The tagline of the book says it all ‘A mom who had parenting all sorted ….until she had a baby.’

This book is about parenting and it is not about parenting. The author writes her personal experience of raising a child. At the same time she doesn’t offer any tips for you. She is aware of the tremendous pressure created on the would be parents by the parenting literature. So she consciously refrains from imparting any gyan. She just exposes everything about raising her child, including that antiseptic cream on her son’s bum, which refused to go.

If you ever had a chance to observe a child from close quarters, you will agree with the following lines from the book. ‘For an adult the process (of sleeping) is very simple – feel sleepy, rub eyes, yawn, hit the bed, snore. For my son it went like- feel sleepy, rub eyes, yawn, hear the door bell, get excited, ask to be taken to the door, observe and form another connection in his tiny brain, forget about sleeping, start playing, feel sleepy again, rub eyes, get tired, know now what to do now, cry, resist everything. Finally when at the tether’s end of weariness, he would settle in our arms and ask in his own way to help him got to sleep.’ She says whoever coined the phrase sleep like a baby never had his own baby.

While documenting her journey of motherhood, she is humorous. Her writing is simple, hilarious and easy to relate. The honesty in her writing is palpable. She candidly admits that child raising became another reason for her fights with her husband. No wonders this book which is humorous, sarcastic and philosophical in the last chapter, strikes a chord with its readers. If you are expecting a child or already have one or planning to have one (more) in near future, this book is highly recommended.

Parenting in the Age of Mc Donald's - Book Review

Child obesity has become a cause of concern not only in western countries but also in India. According to the author obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past thirty years. An estimated 50-70 percent of obese children will turn into obese adults. No wonders even the Indian parent is facing the dilemma as to what to give to his child to eat. During such troubling times comes the book Parenting in the age of Mc Donald’s by Tanuja Sodhi. The author herself was once the mother of an obese kid, who has now turned into a fit teenager. An entire chapter Fat boy slim, Mission Possible is devoted to her experience of raising an obese child. While coping with the obesity of her own child, she became a nutritionist. Now her writing is backed by experiences of many of her clients.

The book imparts knowledge about the essential nutrients and their sources. In the chapter the dreaded trinity Sugar-Salt-Fat, she tells us that these three elements are required for the body and they shouldn’t be completely eliminated from the plate. There are special chapters for diet during examination and what your child should eat if he/she is an athlete. What I liked about the book is that she doesn’t say that you should keep your child completely away from fast-food. Once in a while it is okay is what she says. Also while writing a book about food, the writer doesn’t forget water and exercise, and devotes one chapter each to them. This book is not only about fat children. There is a chapter for you if your child is all skin and bones. The book underlines the fact that children learn by observing. So you will have to switch to a healthy lifestyle before you inculcate good eating habits in your children.

The writing is simple and easy to relate. You can pick any chapter and read. There is no need to read the chapters in sequence. The book contains recipes to some mouth watering yet healthy snacks, plucked from various internet resources, duly acknowledged. The book also busts myths relating to food.

This simple book may solve many of your dilemmas, offer solutions and even make you creative while cooking for your child. Moreover the book underlines the fact that children learn by observing.

Awaken Your Third Eye

Awaken your third eye is a book by Susan Shumsky which promises access to your sixth sense for knowledge, intuition and illumination. In the first part of the book Discovering the third eye, the author discusses references to the third eye in various cultures. He also tells us about the medical discoveries about the third eye particularly the Melatonin.

In the second part the author speaks about the subtle body, third eye chakra and overcoming the psychic blocks. The third part is about developing super senses and siddhis. The fourth part titled opening of the third eye is about affirmations and meditations. In the last part the experiences of third eye are recorded.

I liked the idea of calcification of the third eye, though I doubt if there is any scientific evidence in support. I liked the chakra system explained in the book. Third eye as pineal gland was interesting too. 

But the writing is distorted and confusing. The frequent references to other books by the author are irritating. (For more information read my so and so book) The title of the book looked promising, but the book failed to deliver. The experiences at the end relate to negative incidents as well. Reading them saddened me.